To all of our new and returning graduate students, happy 2019 and welcome to spring semester! I hope you enjoy the spring issue of the Graduate School Newsletter. In this issue, you will find stories about accomplished alums, our spring Career Series, support services and other opportunities geared toward our graduate students.

There are two important policy reminders I want to share with you before we launch into the fun updates. If you are ever unable to register for coursework in a given semester, due to extenuating family, work or other circumstances, you are required to submit a Leave of Absence form to the Registrar’s Office. Next, all students (both undergraduate and graduate) are required to complete an online sexual-assault prevention training in order to meet federal regulations.

As always, you and your success are top priority here at The Graduate School, which begins with the communication that we disseminate weekly via social media and email, in addition to the newsletter’s comprehensive collection of spring events. If you have not yet found the Graduate School on social media (links below), it’s not too late! Be sure to friend/follow us to receive a variety of important updates and special opportunities both on- and off-campus. You can even earn Amazon credit for doing so – read on to learn how.

In closing, please do not hesitate to let me know how we can improve your time here at Hood. Welcome back and thank you for being here—your talents are most welcome!

We are committed to supporting our graduate students in and out of the classroom. Once again, we will be partnering with the Career Center to offer a series of career resources this spring. All of the below events are preparation for our large, culminating Career Fair on March 21 from 3:00-6:00 PM in BB&T Arena.

February 22 – Business Etiquette from 5:00-7:00 PM in the Dreiling Seminar Room, Coblentz Hall

Career Fair on March 21 from 3:00-6:00 PM in BB&T Arena. This drop-in event will host 60+ employers in the region, and graduate students, at all levels and across a variety of disciplines, are encouraged to attend. Bring your business cards (if you have them) and several copies of your polished résumé or CV.

*We are working with all programs not listed above to create an event that is more applicable to those fields.

If you or your spouse are being impacted by the current federal shut down, the College is here to support you during this difficult time. We have some flexibility for tuition billing for any current graduate student who is experiencing a financial strain due to this unfortunate situation. We want to ensure that your education remains possible.

In the spirit of community, we will also be hosting a dinner on Tuesday (January 29th) from 4:30-6:30 PM for anyone at Hood – faculty, staff or student – impacted by the shutdown. We have to cap the dinner at 75 due to space limitations, so please RSVP here soon (up to three members of your family are welcome to join the dinner). Do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have other ideas for how the College can bolster our students during this difficult time.

All students interested in biotechnology or the business practices thereof are welcome to join the Graduate School and our bioinformatics MS program for this fun event. There will be 100+ business, IT, and biotech professionals in the region with whom to network. This event will be hosted in the Whitaker Campus Center Commons from 5:30-7:30 PM. The first 50 attendees will receive a commemorative pint glass. Email gofurther@hood.edu for additional details or RSVP here.

Per federal policy, Hood College requires all students—both undergraduate and graduate—to complete an online training on sexual assault. Because this is a mandatory training and ensures Hood’s federal compliance, failure to complete the course by the deadline will result in a hold on your student account (preventing grade view and transcript orders). For optimum functionality, the course should be completed on a computer, rather than a mobile device. The course has two parts: Part 1 is due by February 4, 2019.

Visit http://www.hood.edu/training and scroll down to the bottom, blue menu bar and click “Course link for graduate students.” You will then be prompted to login to the site via your Self-Service account.

Our Primary Designated School Official (PDSO) and the dean of the Graduate School will explain the policy and procedure for securing curricular practical training (CPT) or optional practical training (OPT) on your F-1 visa in the Whitaker Campus Center 220 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. We will also have a staff member from the Career Center there to demonstrate how to use some of their search engines for locating such OPT/CPT opportunities. Please RSVP here.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we will be showing a documentary, Little Stones, in partnership with Hood’s Center for Global Studies and our local chapter of Zonta. This event will take place in Hodson Auditorium (Rosentsock Hall) on March 11 @ 6 PM. All are welcome!

Little Stones shares the personal stories of four women around the world, who are using art to create positive change in their communities. From a graffiti artist speaking out against domestic violence to a dancer rehabilitating sex-trafficking survivors in India, each of these women is contributing a stone to the mosaic of the women’s movement through their art. This 90-minute documentary was directed by EMMY® Award-winning filmmaker, Sophia Kruz. It has been shown over 70 times globally, including at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and on capitol hill for members of congress. LITTLE STONES won Best Documentary at the Vail Film Festival, Best Foreign Documentary at the Female Eye Film Festival, Best of Festival at the Zonta Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, the Humanitarian Award at DOCUTAH, and an Award of Excellence from Impact Docs.

Do you love Hood? If so, please share our Instant Admission event with your colleagues and friends/family with a bachelor’s degree or higher. From humanities and ceramics to education, business and STEM programs, we have the degree to suit everyone! Although not part of the instant admission process, terminal doctoral, MFA and counseling degrees will also be at this event to share additional information, so encourage your network to register for this free event:

Join us for our Fourth Annual 3MT Competition. Three-Minute Thesis events are held at public/private institutions around the country and internationally. Do not be fooled by the title–this event is open to all current graduate students or master’s students who have graduated since September 2018, not just thesis students. Participants get ONE slide and THREE minutes to share their project or research findings from a wide array of disciplines from the sciences to the humanities (and everything in between). Ready to participate? Just click here to register BY MARCH 11th!

Interested in participating, but you do not yet have a project to share? Consider serving as the MC–no prior training required, and we provide the script! Email Dean Boulton if interested.

Do you have a friend or colleague, who is ready to advance in their career? Share our online Admission Cafe event with your colleagues and friends/family with a bachelor’s degree or higher. From STEM degrees to MBA and education programs, attendees can meet our admissions team and learn about the affordability and power of a Hood graduate degree at our Admission Café—a 30-minute, virtual open house during lunch hour (12:15-12:45 PM). Encourage your network to register for this free event TODAY!

Join me for dinner on April 3 in Whitaker 220 – anytime between 4:30-6:00 PM. Join me for a meal with your peers and contribute to an ongoing conversation on strengthening graduate education here at Hood College. All are welcome, but we have limited seating. Thus, you must reserve your seat in advance here.

We are excited to host our annual Nepalese New Year in combination with a Holi celebration on April 10th from 3:30-6:00 PM in Whitaker 220 in honor of the many, many Nepalese and Indian graduate students we have here at Hood College. Interested in planning the event? Please email gofurther@hood.edu TODAY!

Each year, we honor all of our graduating master’s and doctoral students at a dinner reception designed JUST for you. This year’s Graduate Degree Recipient Reception (GDRR) is on May 15th from 7-9 PM in BB&T arena. I sincerely hope that you can join me, along with President Chapdelaine and ~200 Hood faculty, staff and students to celebrate your accomplishment!

You are welcome to bring a special guest with you. Attire is business casual. Watch your email for the RSVP information. Or contact gofurther@hood.edu for more information.

Join us for our Third Annual Iftar dinner during Ramadan from sunset to ~10:00 PM on May 22nd in Whitaker Campus Commons. A dinner blessing will be given at the official sunset. ALL are invited. I hope to see you there—Ramadan kareem! RSVP here.

Here at The Graduate School, we know that anything worth working for is likely to be stressful at times, especially as you try to juggle a graduate degree with life’s other demands (e.g., full-time job, care-giving). We have two initiatives that support our graduate students’ mental health while they balance the demands of life, school, and work. First, we are forming a Mental-Health Task Force for Graduate Students, composed of faculty members from our counseling program, along with several student representatives. Our goal is to have representation across all program areas, so please email gofurther@hood.edu if you are interested in participating on this task force. Meetings will be just once/month with call-in options for remote participation.

Next, we now have extended health and counseling hours for graduate students, as part of our new partnership with Frederick Memorial Hospital. In response to concerns from working students, we will now have appointment slots for the following times:

Health Appointments

8 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Friday

8 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday-Sunday

Behavior Health Services

10:00-6 p.m., Monday-Friday

Some 6-8 p.m. slots available upon request

We know that these longer hours of service will be of particular benefit to our graduate students, who are often working during the day. To access the Center, students are encouraged to use the sidewalk between the Ronald J. Volpe Athletic Center and the athletic fields to exit the gate at 7th Street, where a blue light security phone currently exists. Individuals should proceed along the 7th Street sidewalk to the crosswalk at Tollhouse.

Teresa Cevallos, the former director of the College’s health center, will serve as Hood’s director of wellness and be the primary liaison between FRHS and Hood, facilitating communication and providing continual assessment to ensure the success of the partnership. In the meantime, please feel free to direct any questions or concerns to Teresa Cevallos at 301-696-3439 or cevallost@hood.edu.

National data show that food insecurity is prevalent on college campuses across America. Such insecurity is defined as “the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.” A 2016 study “Hunger On Campus,” surveyed close to 4,000 college students in 12 states at a variety of institutions from community to 4-year colleges and found that 48% of respondents reported food insecurity in the previous 30 days with roughly equal distribution across all college types. Such hunger was more prevalent among students of color and/or first-generation students.

Hood recently surveyed our community of students (both undergraduate and graduate), faculty and staff. Our findings align with the 2016 survey. If you or someone you know at Hood is impacted by food insecurity, we have resources for you! Please contact Dean Boulton, Reverend O’Malley, or Ms. Cevallos in our Health Center to get details! Your information will be kept anonymous.

Anwar Husain ’18 was presented with Hood College’s Outstanding Student in Computer Science at last spring’s Graduate Degree Recipient Reception. Dr. Husain, who already has an M.D./Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology, graduated with an M.S. in computer science from Hood last May.

His interest and goals are to use his advanced work in computer science to complement his prior background, as he ventures towards a career in bioinformatics. Currently, he is a post-doctoral research fellow in bioinformatics at The Johns Hopkins University.

Anwar decided on the bioinformatics field as it melds together the areas of medicine and computer science, his previous background and his current degree. While at Hood, Anwar worked on developing an efficient machine learning-based model to best assess network intrusion data in predicting attack types.

We’ve recruited a number of current students, who enjoy posting on personal social media, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or other social media platforms (both U.S. and international) to assist with promoting various Grad School events. In exchange for weekly posts/tweets about Hood’s Graduate School this spring, moguls receive an Amazon gift card! This program is open to students from all nationalities, backgrounds and programs. Please contact us at gofurther@hood.edu if you would like to participate! #Moguls4Hood

Are you working on a thesis, capstone, departmental honors paper, or other research project? Are you tired of carrying research materials to and from the library while working on your project? We are pleased to offer assigned, personal shelf space for students in an accessible area on the first floor of the library. Students may use the assigned shelves to store books and other research materials over the course of a semester.

Shelf space is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in an assigned space, please feel free to contact Mr. Toby Peterson (peterson@hood.edu) with any questions!

We are always looking for stories about the wonderful accomplishments of our students—both current and alumni. To facilitate the collection of such good news, we have a handy online form for you to use, as often as you like.
Whether you just presented at a conference or received an academic award or work promotion, we want to know about it! We will feature your news on our social media and gradhighlights.hood.edu.
So what are you waiting for? Click and share your story here.

On behalf of the Graduate Student Association (GSA), I would like to welcome all returning and new students to the 2018-2019 academic year at Hood College. This year will be one full of overcoming challenges and making memories as we strive towards our goals, as a graduate community.

The GSA’s mission is to enrich the graduate student experience and to represent, support, and promote graduate student interests and values. We try to accomplish this by voicing your concerns to administration, providing professional and social development, and promoting fellowship among graduate students. By voicing the needs of our graduate community, we hope to create a thriving environment where you can receive the resources you need to unlock your full potential.

Please consider contributing to GSA this upcoming semester by attending our social events or by sharing any changes you would like to see on campus. Interested in joining? Please send me an email to gsa@hood.edu. Thank you and wishing everyone a semester full of growth and success!